Chapter Fifteen: After the Dust Settles
My breath was lost. My eyes were shut tightly. Loud sounds of bombing were releasing all around me. I knew it, Cyrus lied. I knew he couldn't be trusted. He fooled us. He might have wanted these snakes gone as much as anyone else, but from the looks of it, he wanted the ninja gone too. I was running out of air. I squeezed me hand; it was clutching Cole's arm that was tightly wrapped around my waist. I gave him a few nudges indicating I needed to breathe. Cole eventually got off of me and placed his hood directly over his mouth and nose. Coughing, he said "Hurry, put your hood over your face to breathe. Don't open your eyes for too long either. The mercury burns them." Cole yelled amidst all the bombing. That was also another thing Borg lied about- the bombing. He said they weren't destructive. Barely opening my eyes, I could see buildings and trees on fire, cars that were crushed by debris, and snakes that emerged from the grounds, screaming and crying out.
I gagged as I took in a bit of the gas as I went to breathe. It was the most putrid thing I had inhaled. I needed to vomit since I didn't know how much I had inhaled. My nose started dripping and I was drooling like a dog. Cole grabbed my hand and started to pull me. I couldn't tell which direction we were going, but I knew he was trying to take us back inside.
There were big glass doors to enter the building that were smashed by Cole's fists. "Careful, don't cut yourself."
I couldn't see anything, how was he expecting me to not cut myself on the shards of glass he created? As I stepped through the hollow door, I felt something sharp graze against my leg. Damnit I cut my leg; I did exactly what Cole said not to do. But it's not my fault I'm blind. I didn't have time to stop and tend to it. I just kept running with Cole. Finally, we made it upstairs where the gas hadn't reached and we slammed the door shut. Carefully, we rubbed our eyes to realize we had made in into a conference room. We blocked the air vents with table cloths that were around the room to block any gas from leaking in. We then both ripped off our hoods and coughed. My eyes burned so badly from the little gas that reached me.
I looked over to see that Cole started to throw up. I looked away, but him throwing up made me throw up. With my hands and knees on the floor I coughed and gagged until I couldn't throw up anymore. Afterwards, there was a great relief in my stomach. I laid flat on my back looking up at the ceiling. The air burned my eyes. Streams of tears came down my cheeks. It wasn't tears of sadness, pain, or joy, but a tear like when someone has allergies. You can't stop it or start it.
"Maya?" Cole panted with his hands placed on his knees.
'I'm alright." I said softly, breathing much slower now. Cole came over towards me and collapsed; lying down on his back staring at the ceiling.
"I always thought Borg was there to help us. He betrayed us." Cole said still slightly coughing.
I turned my head towards him. "If it makes you feel any better, all the civilians are gone. So he must've still cared for them."
"The ones here yeah, but we have no idea what happened to the others. Oh my god, the others." Cole jumped up and activated his touch watch. "Come on, you piece of shit,"
"Cole?" I sat up confused.
"Lloyd wasn't with us, and we have no idea where the others are. I need to get in contact with the bounty." Cole said continuing to touch his watch.
All of a sudden, the doors on the other side of the conference room swung open. Both Cole and I jumped. It was Lloyd. "You guys are okay!" Lloyd ran over to us. He was about to hug me until he saw mine and Cole's throw up on the ground. Then he took a couple steps back and awkwardly laughed.
"We almost didn't make it back inside. All the civilians were loaded up and then the bombs went off. We have no idea how the others are." I said.
"The network is down. Cole, don't bother," Lloyd put a hand on his back. "There's nothing we can do until the systems go back online. My mom and Zane are most likely already on it." He said confidently.
"God, I cant believe Borg did this. After all we've been through with that man." Cole stomped around.
"We don't know the full story. Something could have happened. Maybe he thought we left with the civilians." Lloyd said.
"That doesn't explain the explosives." I piped in. "Cole and I could've died. He knew very well we were still in the city. We agreed we had till sundown. It's mid-afternoon." I crossed my arms.
"I know, but I want to have faith. I believe he's a good man. Something isn't adding up." Lloyd shook his head.
"Oh shit, Maya your leg," Cole walked over to me and pointed to my leg that was dripping blood everywhere.
I looked at my leg and gasped. I didn't realize I had cut it that badly. "I- I must've cut it on the glass-"
"Sit down," Cole said sternly. With his help I did sit down. His assertive tone was...ehem..hot to say in the least.
"Nya threw gauze in my backpack. I'll get them out. Cole put pressure on the wound. Make sure to apply pressure on both sides of the leg." Lloyd instructed as he swung his backpack around to his front side.
"I'm going to have to rip your pants." Cole looked up at me as I sat there like a puppy.
"That's too bad, I liked these," I shrugged. "But I'm not complaining," I smirked. I heard Lloyd scoff.
Cole grinned and tore my pant leg from my ankle to my knee, revealing the horrendous laceration that reached from my calf to the back of my knee. "It looks pretty deep," Cole said examining it.
"Doesn't matter. Just apply pressure. Here's some gauze pads," Lloyd tossed a couple pads to Cole. "I'll try to find the roller gauze."
"Looks like I get to take care of you now." Cole smirked at me. I had butterflies in my stomach. I could usually do this on my own, but he was so adorable and hot I couldn't resist him. He took the packages of gauze and ripped them open with his teeth. I almost drooled. He was so concentrated and delicate but aggressive at the same time. He placed the long gauze pad on my wound and applied firm pressure on both sides of my leg. I winced as it pressed against it, but after a while I didn't mind as much. "Sorry," Cole said as he continued to hold pressure.
Lloyd knelt on the other side of me and began to wrap the roller gauze tightly around my leg, making sure that it wouldn't slip off. Then he tied it off with a knot tightly over the gauze pad. "Can you still feel your toes?" Lloyd asked.
I willed my foot through my shoe. "Enough." I joked.
"That should do it for now, but as soon as we get back, you're probably going to need stitches." Cole said assisting me in standing up.
"Thank you, Doctor Bucket." I smiled while nudging him in the side, causing him to giggle.
"Hey don't thank me. Lloyd knows more about this stuff than I ever will." Cole said as he winked at Lloyd.
"I just know the basic first aid. I'm not on Zane or Nya's level in this stuff." Lloyd chuckled humbly. "I've always wanted to be a doctor but with my calling as the green ninja, I just know I will never have time." He sighed.
"Nya's good, but she did a sloppy job on my last stitches. I don't blame her for it but I can be your first victim- I mean patient- if you would want to practice. By the looks of this perfect gauze wrap, you seem like you have a steady enough hand." I said.
"I mean sure, if you really want me to." Lloyd perked up.
"Go for it. It's not like I have anything to lose." I chuckled. "There's a water fountain right outside where you came in," I said to Lloyd. "I'm going to go refill my water bottle." I hopped away leaving the boys alone for a couple minutes.
"So Maya and I were able to talk outside before the bombing started." Cole said.
"Really? How did it go?" Lloyd asked.
"Really well, actually. I think we are a...a thing? I don't know what to call it yet, but she asked me to keep it on the low. I would appreciate it if you would do the same." Cole said.
"Of course. I have to admit, I hated the idea of you guys at first, but Mole is starting to grow on me." Lloyd laughed.
"Did you just call us Mole? What the hell kind of ship name is that? Caya is so much better." Cole threw his hands in the air.
"If you're going to start dating my sister I have the right to call you guys Mole."
"Bro that is so not cool, Maya will hate you." Cole scoffed.
"Im just messing with you," Lloyd laughed. "I'm happy for you both."
"Thanks man." Cole bro-hugged Lloyd. "Also when the hell did you decide you wanted to be a doctor?" Cole said.
"Yeah, I mean, I dunno," Lloyd scratched his head. "I guess what I do is fight the bad guys and make sure nobody get's hurt. But people do get hurt though. We never know what happens to those people Cole. I just wish I could be both the green ninja and a doctor."
"I mean, you could if you really wanted to."
"There's no way. Do you know how much school goes into being a doctor? It's like what, eight years? How would I handle that while still being the green ninja?"
"I'm sure there's less invasive things to be in the medical field. You could still do what you do and be on the front lines."
"How can I be on the front lines when I would be working in a hospital for the rest of my life?" Lloyd sighed.
"Be a paramedic. They have almost all the certifications of the procedures a nurse can do, which is more than a doctor by the way, and it takes less than a year to become one." I said walking back into their conversation.
"How do you know all this?" Lloyd asked.
"Well, when I was still in high-school, I looked into going to the fire academy. First step is being an EMT which only takes a semester, then you would go to paramedic school. I think you'd be a great paramedic." I said.
"Guys, I really appreciate all the thoughts, I do, but you all know I would never have time for both. I can't chose something over my destiny." Lloyd began to look sad. I could see it in his heart how much he wanted to be able to help people more than he already does.
"Whatever you decide to do, we're here for you buddy. Besides, even if you do decide to leave us-"
"Which I'm not."
"We will always make room for you." Cole finished.
"Can anyone hear me? Hello? Anyone! Come in!"
A faint muffled noise sounded near us. At first I thought it was outside but then I looked at Cole's watch. It was glowing orange. "Cole, I think someones trying to get in contact."
Cole Immediately began pressing buttons on his watch. "The signal is there, but it's so weak. I can barely get anything online." Cole said.
"My com isn't working." Lloyd said in frustration.
"Hello? This is Cole. Come in. Repeat, this is Cole." Cole said.
"Cole? Oh my god! You're okay!" Nya said over the com.
"Nya! Are you and Wu okay? have you heard from the others?"
"Wu and I are fine. You are the only person I've been able to contact. How are the others?"
"We're all okay. The bombing went off as soon as the civilians were able to leave." Lloyd said.
"Same here. I don't understand why Borg would do this. He lied to us about so much..." Nya sighed.
"Look, all that matters is that we find a way to reach Kai, Jay, Zane, and Misako. They could be in trouble. Do you have a sky visual from where you're located?" Cole asked.
"Yes, I see the bounty. It landed on the news 12 tower. I don't think they're in trouble or anything."
Lloyd and Cole made a sigh of relief. "That-thats great. Okay so, Kai and Jay had the closest evacuation location by us, when it's safe we're going to try to find them ASAP."
"Good idea. The only thing Cyrus didn't lie about was that the gas disperses quickly. Once there is no visual of the brown steam, Sensei and I are going to head towards the bounty. Good luck guys."
"You too, Nya. Be safe." Lloyd said before Cole shut his watch off.
"You guys know what we need to do. When it's safe, we find the others and we're getting the hell out of here." Cole said.
"I want to get to the bottom of this bombing once everyone is safe. I'm not letting Cyrus get away with this." Lloyd stormed out of the room in anger.
I looked at Cole who's face was filled with fear. "Hey," I put my hand on his cheek. "Let's just do our jobs and go home. Kai and Jay will be okay. They're not book-smart, but they have common sense. They'll be fine."
"You're right about that." Cole said as he gently kissed me on the forehead, causing me to blush.
"Let's get Lloyd then head out. We have to see if it's safe to go outside." I said. Cole nodded and both of us walked out to retrieve Lloyd.
I hoped and prayed Kai and Jay were alright. Kai and I might've butt heads during the sparring tournament, but I still grew a sisterly bond for him. Jay too. They are my family now. I don't know what I would do if they were hurt. Or worse.